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The rain wouldn’t stop.
Ze, frankly, found it quite annoying. He could just switch into creative mode, sure, but he didn’t feel like it. Besides, Regect could do that and-
Well.
Regect looks…sad. Ze can’t quite place the emotion. Forlorn? But Regect has been staring out the window blankly all day. It was starting to worry Moe. And Ze to an extent, but mostly Moe.
So the rain didn’t stop. He’s sure Regect could do it with a snap of its fingers. But again he doesn’t want to interrupt this depressed thing Regect has going on.
“HONK HONK HONK.” Moe says about an hour later as Ze finds something to eat.
“Yeah, it’s starting to get weird.” Ze nods, “It’s been like that since I logged on, which was-” He checks the clock, “A couple hours ago. Regect being so quiet is disturbing.”
“HONK HONK HONK HONK!”
“Oh, that’s really weird. He’d never pass up a conversation with you.” Ze frowns, “What is this chud doing…” He leans out of the kitchen, staring at where Regect is. Still where it was last time he checked.
“HONK HONK.”
“Me? Talk to him? Oh hell no, I ain’t dealing with this sentimental bullshit today-”
“HONK.”
“...fine, give me like. A second to come up with something. Don’t look at me like that you know I’m not good with this-”
Moe mimics a huff, crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks out. She slowly looks over to where Regect was as well, her demeanor softening as worry overtakes her expression.
Ze quickly downs the Monster Energy Drink he has. Not in Minecraft, obviously, it’d be weird. He stares at the dim glow of his laptop, drumming his fingers on his desk as he moves his character to look at Regect once again. What can he say to his asshole, while still saying “yes I hate you but I care about your well-being?”
Ze sighs, rubbing his face, before (with a lack of better words) locking in.
Ze quietly moves along the floorboards until he’s standing next to Regect, looking from it to outside the window.
“...shitty weather huh.” Ze says.
Regect says nothing.
“It’s a shame, didn’t you want to show me that 1:1 replica of the Queen’s palace or some shit?”
Nothing.
“...You can gamble half of my savings away if you really want to.”
Still. Nothing.
“...look, dude-” Ze sighs, “What’s up? You’ve been off all morning, you even got Moe worried. I know you like hate my guts, but you can tell m- I mean us anything-”
“I don’t hate you.”
The statement was mumbled, deep and almost incomprehensible. But Ze has gotten so used to Regect’s voice he could tell what it was saying. It sounded like it had more to say. He felt his eyebrows shoot up to the heavens at the statement, but stayed quiet as Regect continued.
“I…” Regect’s one visible shoulder hunches up, as if trying to make itself look smaller, “Look, I know our thing is we fight and all that, like to a fault, that’s the running bit, but. Just know that. Uhm. Any hate I might’ve felt towards you is long gone. If you still hate me, okay, but I need you to know that I don’t hate you. If. That makes sense.” It gets quiet again, muscles tense.
Ze doesn’t say anything, silently watching Regect. He wants to repeat back “I don’t hate you either,” but something churns in his gut, preventing him from doing so. Something also burns a deep hole into the chest at the words.
“Man- I-” He feels like he’s choking as he looks away from Regect, “What’s going on, Regect. Seriously. You’re not so sentimental.”
“Sorry I-” He hears Regect gulp, “Just- the rain. And. And just a lot of things, actually.”
“What, you hydrophobic?” Ze shouldn’t be quipping. Shouldn’t be insulting Regect. But he doesn’t know how to go about this.
Regect goes quiet again. Then says, “I said all that shit because if you leave, like leave leave, then. I feel better knowing that you know I didn’t hate you. Or whatever. Forget it actually, forget you heard anything-” It quickie turns, as if to leave the conversation entirely.
Ze is moving before even he realizes it, hand grasping onto whatever part of Regect he could. Now, if Regect was shaped like an actual human being and not a freak of nature, maybe Ze could’ve grasped its wrist or something.
Instead, he grabbed onto the middle of its shoulder. Weird angle, but he’s committed now. And it stops.
“...you have bad attachment issues.” Ze murmurs, before pulling Regect into a hug.
It’s a bit awkward. Ze knows- or at least thought- that Regect just didn’t have a head or half of its body. Typical ARG entity shit. But every part of Regect feels solid against him, as he feels it start to shake as its arms wrapped around Ze, trembling.
Ze only has to lift his chin up a bit for Regect to melt into the hug, Regect’s head resting in his chest. Ze holds it close, unsure of why exactly he was doing this at all. He hears footsteps, head turning slowly to see Moe approaching. With a nod of his head, Moe joins the hug as well, wrapping both Ze and Regect in her arms.
The rain is starting to let up outside.
But Ze doesn’t care right now.
The hug eventually breaks, and Ze decides to not comment on (what he could assume to be) golden tears staining his white hoodie. He has more.
“You wanna talk about it more or?...”
A pause from Regect. Wait no- Ze feels a slight breeze. It’s moving its’ head. Which direction, maybe right to left, Ze can’t tell. He doesn’t blurt out “dude we can’t see,” letting Regect take its time.
“Not…not really, no. But uhm. Thanks, I guess?”
“Yeah dude, any time.” Ze claps it on the shoulder, “Now can you like. Make it stop raining with cheats.”
“Can’t.”
“...okay then lets do something inside.”
“HONK HONK!”
“...Monopoly is universally a bad choice.”
“HONK!”
“...okay maybe not for us, lets go.”
If Ze had to guess, Regect was smiling as Ze fumbled to find its wrist, dragging it to the couch as Moe went to grab the game from her room.
They say nothing as they wait. Ze is unsure of what to do, since Regect is still acting like…not itself. Unless this is itself then…yeah Ze doesn’t want to dive into the hole right now. Typically they bicker about something stupid, but this feels like a tender and vulnerable moment for Regect.
“I uh. Can’t change the rain because of some bug.” Regect murmurs, “In case you wanted like. An explanation.”
Ze brushes it off, “Whatever. Bet I could find it easily in the code.”
He hears Regect laugh, a burst of pride somehow exploding in his chest, “You’ve never even taken like a programming course, dude!” Regect retorts.
“Course I have.”
“Nuh uh.”
“Yuh uh.”
“NUH UH!”
The bickering was back. Easier, lighthearted. A smile resting easy on Ze’s face and hopefully Regect’s.
Moe came back with the game shortly after.
Yeah, it went as well as you can expect.
Regect wouldn’t stop staring at that one potted flower though.
Ze will ask it another day. Regect will tell him once it’s ready. It seems like that kind of entity. Ze is impatient, but doesn’t mind waiting for Regect.